Maximum-demand meter



May 1, 1-923. 1,453,498

w. 1., HAMILTON MAXIMUM DEMAND METER Filed Aug. 25, 1919 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Fig.6.

OOOOOO In ventor Waltev L. Hamilton bH WW4 M His Attorney.

Patented May I, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

WALTER HAIMTLTOIN, OF HOLYGKE, LVIASSACHUSETES, ASSEGNOIt-TO GELlERA L ELEC: TRIC COIVIPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MAXIMUM-DEMELND IEETER.

I Application filed August 25 1919. Serial No. 319,695.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, l/VALTER L. HAMIL- TON, acitizen of theUnit-ed States, residingat Holyoke, in the county of l lanipden, State'of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in MaximumDemand Meters, of'which the following is a specificationf This invention relates to maximum demand meters, and more particularly to the curve-drawing variety.

One ob'ect of'my invention is to reduce the number of parts in such meters and to simplify their manufacture.

My device may be readily installed on any standard meter of the revolving armature type, and is an improvement on the meter shown in the patent to Ingalls, No. l,lO6,7lOpatented August 11. 1914. Tu said patent a recording pencil is operated through the medium of a relay, and is adaptedto make short dashes, proportional to the number of revolutions of the meter armature, upon a paper strip advanced at a uniform rate. With my'improved construction the relay for operating the pencil is done away with, since a direct mechanical connection is made between the pencil and the armature of the'meter.

For a further understanding of my invention, reference may be had to the ac companying drawings where- Figure 1 shows in perspective the main features of the invention; Fig. 2 is a side View of the actuating disc and its driving gear; Fig. 3 is a detail view of'the connect ing rod; Fig. 4 is a front view showing the operation of the actuating disc and connect ing rod; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Figure 4;, of a modification; and Fig. 6 shows a fragment of the record strip.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the rotatable meter armature 11 of the ordinary disc type, is adapted to be rotated in accordance with the electrical quantity to be measured. This disc armature is rigidly fixed to the shaft 12, suitably supported in stationary bearings. The worm 13, cut into the shaft 12, is shown as engaging the gear wheel 14, rigidly supported on the short shaft 15, at one extremity thereof. It is, of course, understood that the ordinary indicating mechanism is likewise operated from shaft 12 through suitable gearing. At the other extremity of the shaft 15 the actuating disc 16 is rigidly connected. Two evenly spaced pins 1? are carried by this disc. groove 18 is cutin each pin to accommodate the connecting rod 19. This connecting rod is bent at its end, as shown, to form the hook 20, which, at times, engages either of the pins 11'. The other extremityof rod 19 ts into a member 22 which is connected to he pencil-carrying rod 23. This rod 23 is rigidly fastened to a pivoted shaft 2%, which shaft is fixed in suitably arranged bearings, not shown. The lower extremity of the rod carries the pencil or other marker 25. An adjustable weight 26 is carried by the rod 27 connected to the collar 28 rigidly connected both to the shaft 24 and rod 23. The marker 25 is adapted to trace a curve upon the record sheet 29, which is clearly shown in Fig. 6. This sheet: is advanced at a itiniforni rate by means of suitable clockwork acting through gear 30, which ro tates the roller 31, serving as a guide for the curve sheet.

From the description of the construction, it can readily be seen that for every revolution of shaft 15, the rod 19 is pulled forward twice against the action of the counter weight 26. Said counterweight serves to throw the marker 25 to the forward end of the record sheet, when rod 19 is disengaged from the pin. The operation of the pins, rod and counterweight may be understood from a consideration of Fig, 4. The disc. 16 rotates in the direction of the arrow and carries with it the pins 1?. As the pins depart from a horizontal position the hook 20 is released from engagement with the left-hand pin. When this happens the counterweight 26 immediately pulls back the hook 20 so that it engages the right-hand pin. in another half revolution the same operation takes place. It is thus seen that the rod 19 is reciprocated twice in each revolution, the time consumed in its forward movement depending upon the rate of movement of the armature 11, and thus upon the rate of energy consumption. The restoring movement, due to the counterweight, is practically instantaneous. The marker 25 accurately registers the reciprocations upon the sheet 29, which may be appropriately calibrated as shown in Fig. 6.

The number of the peaks due to the reciprocations of the marker in unit time is an indication of the demand. For example, in the quarter hour between 10 :45 and 11:00, there are only three peaks, so that the demand was low. Between 9:45 and 10:30, the demand was zero, the meter being stopped, as indicated by the horizontal line. In this way, the greatest as well as the smallest demand for any particular time may be ascertained. It is, of course, to be understood that the meter may measure any electrical quantity. The ear train for operating the indicator may e suitably actuated by the shaft 12.

In Fig. 5 is shown a modification, wherein a single crank pin 31 reciprocates the rod 19. A suitably bored eye connection 32 is fastened to said rod to accommodate the pin 31. With this modification but one reciprocation of the marker 25 is had per revolution of the shaft 15.

It can readily be seen that the parts mak ing up this attachment are all extremely simple, chea to manufacture and few in number; an that the attachment may be readily installed upon a standard meter. In contradistinction to the Ingalls meter referred to above, a continuous graph is made instead of short dashes, and it may be readily determined at what precise instant the meter has ceased or started operating. This instant is indicated at the point where the horizontal line of the graph begins and ends.

While I have illustrated preferred embodiments of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to them, but seek to cover all embodiments falling fairly within the scope of m invention.

W at I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. A recording electric meter comprising a shaft adapted to be rotated at a speed proportional to a metered quantity, an oscillating member, mechanical means driven by said shaft for mechanically oscillating said member at a frequency varying in fixed proportion to the speed of rotation of said shaft, and means for recording the oscillations.

2. A recording electric meter comprising a rotatable meter shaft, a disc mechanically driven by said shaft, a plurality of pins carried by said disc, an oscillated member adapted to be engaged by one or the other of said pins for moving said member in one direction, means for moving said member in the opposite direction upon disengagement between said member and the cooperating pin, and means for recording the oscillations.

3. A recording electric meter comprising a shaft adapted to be driven at a speed proportional to the metered quantity, means driven at a uniform speed for receiving a record, an oscillating member for producin the record and means for oscillating said member at a frequency varying in fixed proportion to the speed of rotation of said shaft.

4. A recording electric meter comprising a rotatable meter shaft, a disc mechanically driven by said shaft, a plurality of projections carried on the surface of said disc, a rod provided with a hook for engagin any one of said rojections a pivoted mem er, a connection Imtween t e rod and one extremity of said member, a marker carried by the other extremity, a sheet cooperating with said marker moved at a uniform rate, and means for restoring the hooked rod to its initial position upon disengagement between a cooperating projection and the hooked end of the rod.

5. A recording electric meter comprising a shaft adapted to be rotated at a speed proportional to a metered quantity, means for receiving a record, means for producinga record, means for driving one of said record means at a uniform speed and means for oscillating the other of said record means at a frequency varying in fixed proportion to the speed of rotation of said shaft.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 22nd da of Au 1919.

WALTE L. HA ILTON. 

